HB 223 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

SUNSET LAW: Re-creates the Department of Children and Family Services

HB 223 re-creates Louisiana's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and its related statutory entities, effective June 30, 2026, under a sunset provision. The department will cease all statutory authority on July 1, 2031, unless re-created earlier per state law. This bill directly affects the DCFS and all agencies legally part of it, establishing a fixed 5-year duration for the department’s existence under Louisiana’s sunset law framework. It repeals an existing section (R.S. 49:191(1)(h)) and updates sunset dates to align with the new termination timeline.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Last action May 26, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB223 Original → HB223 Engrossed · 1 edit · Mar 31, 2026

MINOR

The bill was reclassified from 'Original' to 'Engrossed' status, indicating it has passed committee review and is ready for final passage. The substantive policy content regarding the Department of Children and Family Services appears unchanged, with the primary modification being the update of the bill's title page and header information to reflect its current legislative stage.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill header and title page to change the status from 'Original' to 'Engrossed', reflecting that the text has been amended and approved by the House.

Floor votes · House Mar 31, 2026

How they voted

101–0

Passed · 6 other

Total votes 107

Mar 31, 2026

D Democratic33

30 Yea 3

90% Yea

R Republican74

71 Yea 3

95% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 21, 2026

Committee

Committee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

upper

May 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported with amendments.

upper

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 99, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (10-0).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors